Sessions Court judge Zulqarnain Hassan, in finding Nasimah Kamarudin, 40, guilty, ruled that the defence had failed to cast a reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Nevertheless, the court granted a stay of Nasimah’s sentence pending appeal, but increased her bail amount from RM10,000 to RM18,000 in one surety.
In his judgement, Zulqarnain said Nasimah had committed a serious white collar crime that put the country’s financial system and business in a bad light.
“Offences of criminal breach of trust are commonly reported in the mass media. This shows that it is rampant and that potential offenders are still undeterred.
“As a trusted staff in the company, you chose to dishonestly misuse RM90,000 of its money,” noted Zulqarnain, while adding that the court took into account public interest in imposing the sentence.
The court found that Nasimah, who was entrusted to manage a Maybank cheque book belonging to Magada Entertainment Sdn Bhd, had issued five cash cheques in her name and deposited eight cheques in her bank account totalling RM90,000.
She committed the offence at the company’s premises at No. 32, Jalan Balau, Damansara Heights here, between Nov 1, 2007 and March 28, 2008.
During the trial, deputy public prosecutor Faridah Nurdinie Bahrum called four witnesses, including Sheila, while counsel Ahmad Shamil Azad Abdul Hamid called Nasimah as the defence’s sole witness.